Developers and electronic enthusiasts looking to build remote Internet of Things applications may be interested in a new solar charger launched this week by Voltaic in the form of the LiIon LiFePO4 MPPT. The new solar charger board has been designed to help engineers quickly build efficient charging systems that support a broad range of battery types and solar panel voltages straight out of the box.
Priced at $75 the lithium-ion / lithium-polymer and LiFePO4 MPPT solar charge controller is now available and will help induct the development process of remote IoT applications in its creators. Features include efficiently charge lithium ion, lithium iron phosphate or lead acid batteries, selectable 1s, 2s, or 3s battery configuration, based on ti bq24650 chipset and plug and play inputs and outputs.
“A quick example setup is a 6 Watt Solar Panel, plus one of the 3.5×1.1 to 5.5×2.1 adapters, which connects directly into the barrel jack at the top left of the board. To match this panel, the left knob should be turned to 5.9V MPP. With a 1S 2000mAh LiPo cell from Adafruit, we turn the right knob to 4.2V for 1S LiPo. Connecting both the panel and the battery to the board and putting it out into the sun will start the charging cycle. The red LED will remain on while it charges and turn green when it is done charging.
Unlike other solar charger boards on the market, ours is compatible with a multiple cells in series as well as lead acid and LiFePO4. Another possible configuration is our 17W panel (left knob turned to 17.7V), paired with a 12V lead acid battery or a 4S LiFePO4 (knob turned to 14.4V). Maximum charge current is 2A into the battery (so a 17W, 18V panel will deliver 2A to a 1S LiIon battery for ~7.4W charging, but can deliver the same 2A into a 2S LiIon battery for ~14.8W charging).”
For more details and purchasing options jump over to the official Voltaic website by following the link below.
Source: Voltaic